Bottling day: Session IPA

[xoddsx]

My first ever brew is now sat happily in bottles, with a couple of weeks to condition I cannot wait to try it!

Couple of things to note from the bottling:

1. I had around 20 litres in my fermenter and this translated to 16.5 litres in the bottling bucket, this seemed a bit of a poor return but there was a sudden change in the siphon from clear to almost white so I stopped racking. Does that seem normal to more experienced brewers? I was using a Mangroves Jack stainless steel fermenter with a tap if that matters.

2. I had already added my sugar solution to the bottling bucket and was racking on top so I don't know if I'm going to have over primed it. 140g of cane sugar, so I had worked at about 6.5-7.5g per litre but it actually ended up at 8.5 g/l so hopefully not too much, won't have exploding bottles will I?

 

[Oneflewover]

1. Seems like quite a lot of loss to me. What yeast did you use and did you wait / encourage it out of suspension?

2. I reckon that's about 3 volumes if the beer was at 20deg, so pretty lively but should be ok. Do you use a priming calculator?

 

[xoddsx]

No cold crash or anything, just two weeks in FV (I think most fermenting finished in the first week), another week with dry hops added. Yeast was Safale US-05. Why would this increase the return?

The recipe came with instructions for 19 litres so I figured I'd be in the right ball bark. Didn't expect to lose that much, I guessed 2 litres at most. Next time I will have a better knowledge of what to expect out of the FV.

 

[Oneflewover]

Some yeast tends to fall out of suspension (flocculates) quicker and more completely than others. US05 should flocculate pretty well though. Might be worth trying cooling before bottling next time if possible

 

[xoddsx]

Cheers, will give it a try next time and see what happens.

 

[DavidDetroit]

I lose right around 2 liters when bottling, occurring mainly from siphoning from the FV so as to leave "non-beer" behind.
If I've siphoned carefully, the bottling bucket will still sometimes have a thin layer of sediment when I reach the bottom.
I use US-05 a lot and it performs well. I've never cold-crashed and my beer has never had the problem you mentioned.

It sounds like you used an auto-siphon? You also mentioned a spigot (at/near the bottom) but it doesn't sound like you used it. If you did use an auto-siphon, I've had the exact same thing (almost white) which means I put the end into the yeast cake.

If the FV is moved around a lot prior to bottling, you could have unsettled the yeast and you reached it when it was in the process of resettling.

If you took gravity readings at the beginning and end, this tells you if you beer is fermented completely. Reaching your final gravity per the recipe is quite important. Bottling a beer before you FG is reached is the usual cause of exploding bottles.
Minus those readings, you should see active fermentation begin and end. The beer will have a ring around the edges and the beer will be free of foam. If you saw this happen, waited two weeks (I do three) and the room temperature was within your yeast's range, you'll be fine.

I didn't check the priming calculator, but you didn't add a crazy amount so, as stated above, exploding bottles won't be an issue.

If you saw fermentation occur and followed the recipe, my bet is that you disturbed the yeast cake.

 

[xoddsx]

Hey David,

Yep was an auto-siphon, I had to carry the FV down a set of stairs and down a narrow corridor, weight and awkwardness meant it definitely got transported less steadily than I would have hoped for, I think you're almost certainly right. I had considered this and thought the hour or so whilst I rinsed the bottles and got everything else prepared would give it time to settle again.

That's good to know about the bottles, I'm almost certain that the yeast had done as much as it was going to. I had read that the dry hopping may encourage a final push by the yeast but the SG didn't change over that week. Start to finish it went from 1.047 OG to 1.012 SG (These are adjusted Refractometer readings using this calculator - https://www.petedrinks.com/abv-calculator-refractometer-hydrometer/) which was about what it was meant to be.

Will be more careful with the yeast cake next time. If I can't be how long would you recommend before racking to the bottling bucket? I'm guessing the longer the better!

 

[DavidDetroit]

1.047 OG to 1.012 SG

Beautiful FG reading! I can relax now--bottle bombs are no laughing matter. Thus, I'm always reluctant to give too short of an answer when it comes to possible under-fermentation. I'd like to leave out fermentation temps, gravity readings and so forth but they are too important to leave out unless it's with someone I already know is well-experienced.

Yes, the longer the better. Ideally--which I'm not able to do--set up your area so that you siphon from where the FV sat for two weeks into the bottling bucket. Without that option, I think 24 hours is more than enough. I do about two hours (I'm as careful as I can be lugging it up the stairs) but I don't mind a little bit murky. That settles anyway, once it's in the bottle. And the point is just to not waste those other 2 liters which two hours would accomplish.

For any new brewer: If you don't use a glass fermenter but a bucket with an airlock, I've found it very useful to crack the lid when transporting so the liquid doesn't get sucked into the FV. While we're at it, carry those giant demijohns (glass carboy) with full supporting strap or in a milk crate.

 

[matt76]

I bottled my first AG (and second ever) brew a week ago - from 10-11L in the FV my yield was 7.5L (15x500ml bottles), so in line with your experience.

Like you i want to reduce these losses - AG#2 will be ready to bottle in a week and seeing as it's only 5L i how the losses are more modest! Not sure yet if these losses tend to be fixed or proportional to the brew volume...

One thing i did with AG#3 is up the volume a bit to 14L so i should get a better return on my time and effort - but in my case at least i have to weigh this against how much water i can heat!

Best of luck with your brew once it's drinking time, bet you're well excited to try it, i know i am with mine! :)

 

[xoddsx]

I bottled my first AG (and second ever) brew a week ago - from 10-11L in the FV my yield was 7.5L (15x500ml bottles), so in line with your experience.

Like you i want to reduce these losses - AG#2 will be ready to bottle in a week and seeing as it's only 5L i how the losses are more modest! Not sure yet if these losses tend to be fixed or proportional to the brew volume...

One thing i did with AG#3 is up the volume a bit to 14L so i should get a better return on my time and effort - but in my case at least i have to weigh this against how much water i can heat!

Best of luck with your brew once it's drinking time, bet you're well excited to try it, i know i am with mine! :)

Ha, yes cannot wait . Think I might try a bottle after a week to check it's not poison!